


Soulpiercers

by infinitegraces



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, F/M, Tumblr: promptsinpanem
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-19
Updated: 2015-10-19
Packaged: 2018-04-27 03:46:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5032540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/infinitegraces/pseuds/infinitegraces
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Whoever picked those out certainly has an eye for beauty. (Written for Prompts in Panem, Round 8, Day 5.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Soulpiercers

**Author's Note:**

> I may have also looked up other meanings for the flowers I used and then discovered that that combination would be perfect for how I see Everlark. So, I went with it. All mistakes are my own. :)

Katniss sat in the parlor of her family's home, staring at the fireplace. She'd been trying to read a book, but hadn't made it past the first page. She couldn't even say what the book's name was.  
  
She couldn't stop thinking about the note that had come with the flowers that were sitting on the table in the entryway.  
  
 _Katniss –  You pierce my soul._  
  
The note had been unsigned, but she knew the origin of the text. It was from Persuasion, which was probably her favorite of Jane Austen's novels. Prim tended to prefer Pride and Prejudice, though to her credit she cited Jane and Mr. Bingley as her favorite of the book's couples. Not that she didn't like Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, she'd say, just that she rather hoped to have a relationship more like the one Jane and Bingley shared.  
  
Katniss would admit that she wanted the same for her sister. At least, she wanted Prim to have everything her heart desired. There had been a period of time a few years ago where Katniss hadn't been sure if that would be possible. After their father had died in an accident the winter Katniss was fifteen, their mother had been unable to keep it together. Katniss had hidden it well for a while, and it had almost become too much at one point.  
  
They had been out of food for a few days, persisting on mint leaves and boiled water from the stove. They were lucky to not owe anything on their home and they did have enough wood to keep the house warm, but it wasn't going to help them for much longer unless she could do something.  
  
When Katniss started to head out to look for something, she almost tripped over the basket that someone had left on their doorstep. Pulling at the cloth, she nearly fainted at the sight of the different goods that filled the basket. Two loaves of bread, half a dozen rolls, and was that a ham she saw in there?  
  
After they ate that night, she'd lain in bed wondering how that basket had come to be at their door. It dawned on her that in their small community, there was only one family it could have come from at that time of night. The Mellarks, who owned the local bakery. The youngest son was her age, and sat across the aisle from her at school. Peter? No, Peeta. That was his name.  
  
They'd never spoken more than a couple of words at a time to one another, but she knew he was kind. He'd never taken part in teasing her and the other girls the way many of the other boys did. She'd caught him looking her way a few times, but he would always avert his eyes the second she started to return his glances.  
  
Leaving a basket of food was exactly the type of thing he would do, she was certain of it.  
  
So the next day at school, she slipped him a note on a scrap of paper as they filed back inside from lunch, laying it on the corner of his desk before taking her own seat.  
  
 _Thank you._  
  
She was unsurprised when he reached across the aisle to lay the paper on her desk the next time their teacher's back was turned.

_How did you know?_  
  
She quickly scribbled her reply, this time dropping the paper on the floor by his seat.  
  
 _I can't fit it on here. Meet me under the apple tree?_  
  
She watched him pick it up. After he read it, he looked at her, giving a short nod in response.  
  
When they met later that day, she told him how she'd come to the conclusion she'd arrived at. Then he surprised her by asking if she wanted to be friends. She protested at first, but he stood his ground, insisting it was something he genuinely wanted.  
  
They'd been friends ever since.   
  
The main turnaround had come a few days later when her mother's cousin Effie came to live with them. She was independently wealthy and made sure they wanted for nothing. She was also a member of the women's suffrage movement, which Katniss admired.  
  
The front door opening alerted Katniss to Prim and Effie's arrival home. Effie had taken Prim shopping for Christmas presents after school. Katniss had already finished her Christmas buying for the year, so it made little sense for her to accompany them on their trip. She got up to go greet them.  
  
"Katniss! Oh, what beautiful flowers. Aren't these lovely, Effie? Katniss, who are they from?"  
  
"I—well, the note was unsigned, so I don't exactly know who sent them," Katniss said. "They are nice, aren't they?" Prim couldn't help but pull the note off and look at it before placing it back on its holder.  
  
"Whoever picked those out certainly has an eye for beauty," Effie mused. "I never would have thought to put that combination together. Let's see…the blue ones are hyacinth, and the ones that look like daffodils are actually jonquil. Then we have some Queen Anne's Lace—there's an interesting story behind that one's name, I'll have to share it with you girls some time. This last flower…oh, my, I do believe those are peach blossoms."  
  
Prim couldn't help herself. "You know what they symbolize, don't you, Effie?"  
  
"I do. This combination, I'd say our Katniss has some young man rather enchanted by her. They each have multiple meanings, but to be combined like this, well..." Effie trailed off, looking rather affected by the bouquet's meaning.  
  
"Say, you don't think—no, that's probably wishful thinking on my part," Prim said, shaking her head. "Katniss, are we having any guests for dinner tonight?"  
  
Katniss wanted to ask her sister what she'd started to say, but it slipped from her mind as she answered her sister's question.  
  
"Actually, we are. Peeta's parents are going to a dinner party tonight at the Mayor's, so I invited him to eat with us so he wouldn't be eating alone."  
  
"That was thoughtful of you, Katniss," Effie complimented. "I do so enjoy that young man's visits. He's always willing to listen to my speeches for the suffrage meetings."  
  
"Well, he does believe that women have as much right to vote as any man," Katniss said. "He's always saying he'd want any wife of his to be able to voice her opinion."  
  
When he arrived later in the evening, it was Mrs. Seeder, the maid, who answered the door.  
  
"Good evenin', Mr. Mellark, won't you come on in? Ms. Effie, Mrs. Everdeen, and the girls are all still upstairs gettin' ready for supper. Let me get your coat," she said with a kind smile at him. He returned that smile, shrugging out of his coat and handing it to her.  
  
"Thank you, Mrs. Seeder. How are Rue and Thresh doing?" Mrs. Seeder's kids could sometimes be found at the Everdeen's. Rue and Prim were the same age, and Thresh was a little older than Katniss, so Peeta had gotten to know them some as well.  
  
"They're both doing fine. Thresh has gotten himself some work mowing lawns and cleaning gutters for some of the families in the neighborhood."  
  
"Tell him I wish him luck, please?"  
  
"I certainly will," she said. "I should probably go let the ladies know you've arrived."  
  
She hung his coat in the closet by the stairs before going up to deliver the news. He looked around, smiling when his eyes caught sight of the flowers.  
  
"You know," came a voice from behind him, "I didn't know what to think when they showed up after school. But the way my sister reacted when they got home from shopping, I couldn't help but wonder. So I took the note and compared it."  
  
He met her at the bottom of the stairs, eyes twinkling. She was a vision in green, her hair up in the latest fashion. He held his hand out to her, waiting patiently as he always had.  
  
"Nobody else knows your love for Austen like I do, you know," he teased. She tilted her head, acknowledging the truth in his words.  
  
"You mean it, though. Don't you?"  
  
"Of course. You do pierce my soul. Even before we became friends, it was true."  
  
The look she gave him could have melted the Devil's icy heart, it was so warm.  
  
"You pierce my soul as well," she admitted.  
  
"I know. You're kind of an open book to me now." He pulled one of the peach blossoms out of the bouquet and wove it into her hair, careful not to mess it up.  
  
When Effie, Prim, and Mrs. Everdeen came downstairs, they found Katniss and Peeta standing by the flowers, looking at one another with quiet smiles on their faces.  
  
"I knew it," Prim whispered. "He's been in love with her for ages. It was only a matter of time before he made his move."  
  
The atmosphere at dinner that night was the lightest it had been in ages.

**Author's Note:**

> Flower meanings:
> 
> Queen Anne’s Lace - prompt meaning: fantasy; researched meanings: haven, sanctuary, delicateness
> 
> Hyacinth - prompt meaning: fertility; researched meaning: constancy of love
> 
> Peach Blossom - prompt meaning: “I am your captive”; researched meanings: (this one I didn’t use researched as much, but for fun I’ll put them down anyway) sweetness of life or being challenged with finding the sweetness in life, captivated
> 
> Jonquil - prompt meaning: desire; researched meanings: sympathy (didn’t use, obviously), love me, affection returned


End file.
